The present invention relates to a structure for mounting and dismounting and equipment unit and more particularly to a structure capable of surely locking a disk unit or similar equipment unit to an apparatus body.
Various structures have heretofore been proposed for mounting and dismounting a magnetic or an optical disk unit or similar equipment unit to an apparatus body. A disk array apparatus in particular must be provided with a simple mounting and dismounting configuration because it is expected to accommodate a plurality of disk units. Generally, a disk unit loaded with, e.g., a 3.5 inch hard disk has a thickness of 41.3 mm or a thickness of 25.4 mm. It has therefore been customary to provide an apparatus body capable of accommodating a 41.3 mm thick disk unit.
However, there is an increasing demand for a small size apparatus body exclusively applicable to a 25.4 mm thick disk unit. Then, it is necessary to reduce the thickness of the disk unit itself to 30 mm or less. In light of this, there has been proposed a structure for mounting and dismounting a disk unit from an apparatus body by leverage acting on a front panel included in the disk unit. There has also been proposed a structure in which a disk unit is mounted and dismounted from an apparatus body with a handle thereof held by hand.
However, the problem with the above leverage scheme is that a sufficient mounting force does not act on the disk unit unless the front panel has a width of at least about 50 mm. This obstructs the thin configuration of the entire disk unit. The handle scheme also obstructs the thin configuration because the disk unit needs a width great enough for the operator to hold the handle.
Technologies relating to the present invention are also disclosed in, e.g., Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 5-30919 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 7-50492.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a structure capable of preventing a disk unit or similar equipment unit from slipping out of an apparatus body due to vibration and allowing the operator to easily mount and dismount the equipment unit from the apparatus body.
In accordance with the present invention, in a structure for mounting and dismounting an equipment unit from an apparatus body including a plate-like frame formed with a slot at a preselected end and a bore contiguous with the slot for receiving the equipment unit via the slot, the equipment unit includes a front panel and a pair of mounting members. The mounting members are positioned at opposite sides of the front panel, and each contacts, when the equipment unit is received in the apparatus body, the inner periphery of the frame at one end and is exposed to the outside of apparatus body at the other end. The mounting members each are rotatable in a direction in which the equipment unit is inserted into the apparatus body.